Date: February 2, 2023
Author: Steven Kellam
Video marketing has become a crucial part of modern marketing strategies and channel partner marketing is no exception. A recent report from Wyzowl, as referenced by Robert Cassard, founder and CEO of Voodoo Video Marketing, during my conversation with him on Channel Waves Podcast, highlighted just how powerful video has become in the enterprise. Marketers have realized the value of video, demonstrated in the following statistics:
- 87% – say that video has produced a positive return on their investment (anything over 50% on surveys is great)
- 84% – say that video has generated leads
- 94% – say that video has increased customer understanding of their business
- 86% – say that video has boosted their website traffic
- 83% – say that video has increased customers’ time on a webpage
- Audiences are twice as likely to share video content than any other content
The data is clear. By incorporating videos into channel partner marketing plans, channel partners can increase engagement, drive more leads and sales, and strengthen relationships. Here are some key benefits of using video in channel partner marketing:
- Increased Engagement: Videos are highly engaging and can capture the attention of your audience better than any other type of content. By creating interesting and relevant videos, you can keep your channel partners engaged and interested in your brand.
- Better Communications: Videos provide an excellent opportunity to communicate complex concepts and ideas in an easy-to-understand format. This can help you communicate the value of your products and services to your channel partners and increase their understanding of your brand.
- Increased Trust: By creating high-quality and informative videos, you can demonstrate your expertise and build trust with your channel partners. This trust can be leveraged to drive more sales and build stronger relationships with your partners.
- mproved Sales: By creating high-quality and informative videos, you can demonstrate your expertise and build trust with your channel partners. This trust can be leveraged to drive more sales and build stronger relationships with your partners.
- Cost-Effective: Creating video content can be cost-effective, especially when compared to traditional marketing methods such as print and TV ads. By investing in video marketing, you can get a high return on investment and reach a large audience without breaking the bank
Clearly, there are plenty of advantages to creating quality videos for channel partners. However, a video is only as good as its viewership, and you can’t get viewers unless you’re using the right distribution channels to get to them – at the right time and place. Along with Robert’s extensive experience, StructuredWeb’s founder and CEO, Daniel Nissan, also underscored the importance of video content syndication as part of his 2023 Predictions Series. In it, he states that, “video syndication, whether by single-email or through a complete video portal, has become the fastest-growing partner marketing activity to date and will continue to grow and expand to new platforms.” With that, the following video distribution channels still reign supreme:
- Website: Companies need to have at least one video on their homepage – specifically one that explains what they do for their customers. In fact, partners that follow this rule are 53% more likely to be on the first page of a Google search. Embedding videos on your company website is an excellent way to showcase your brand and products. This helps increase engagement and build trust with your channel partners.
- Email: Email is still the most effective way to distribute video. Including videos in your email marketing campaigns can increase open and click-through rates. By using videos to showcase your products or services, you can make a strong impact on your channel partners and drive more sales.
- YouTube: Making your video “findable” is essential and still in 2023 the most findability for video content is YouTube. YouTube is the largest video platform in the world and provides a great opportunity to reach a large audience. By creating informative and engaging videos and uploading them to YouTube, you can reach a wider audience and increase your visibility.
- TikTok: TikTok is a popular short-video platform that has gained a large following among younger audiences. By creating creative and engaging videos for TikTok, you can reach a new and untapped audience
- All other social media platforms: Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn are great ways to distribute your videos and reach a wider audience. By using social media, you can engage with your channel partners and build relationships with them.
Even if channel partners make the video and understand the distribution landscape, there are still plenty of barriers keeping them from reaping the benefits of this must-have method of marketing communications. The most common challenges cited by partners, which include lack of resources (in the form of time and money), limited technical skills and difficulty measuring success, just don’t stand up to the tools and technology available today. From automating the entire process, from creation to distribution, using a proven TCMA platform like StructureWeb’s, to leveraging online tools and templates, there are plenty of cost-effective, time-saving tactics to take make it simple and effective. Additionally, from a measurement perspective, channel partners can now easily employ analytics tools to measure the success of their video marketing efforts to optimize their results.
The Future is Visual
The mass proliferation of video content, coupled with the increased popularity of short-form video consumption makes the decision easy for channel partners – video is now a non-starter. For channel partners that leverage video in their marketing efforts, the future looks bright. By incorporating videos into their strategies and aligning with their vendor partners, they can increase engagement, drive more sales and build stronger and more meaningful relationship with their customers.
For more information about StructuredWeb’s automated TCMA platform for video creation and syndication, visit www.structuredweb.com.
